Junior Sailing News


Posts from March 2024

Posts from January 2024

Holland Vierling at the 2022 Orange Bowl Regatta

By Holland Vierling | January 12, 2023

Kevin and my trip to Orange Bowl to race 29ers was both an amazing all around experience and full of life lessons on adapting to surprises! We started out thinking we were ahead of the game because we registered to attend the pre-clinic. We planned to use this time to learn about the waters of beautiful Biscayne Bay. Unfortunately we were thrown a curve ball when Kevin caught Influenza A and was totally out for the clinic - and we barely recovered by the time the actual Orange Bowl regatta started. I decided to attend the pre-clinic - land portion and shared my notes with Kevin nightly. I tried to find a sub-partner using social media, and came close but it never quite came to fruition.


Kevin Cason at the Olympic Development Program in Miami

By Kevin Cason | January 05, 2023

Last month, I traveled to Miami to participate in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) with my crew Holland Vierling, and we were there among 13 of the best teams in the 29er class from all over the United States.

The first day at ODP was different from our training in San Diego, we had lots of Olympic class coaches and three different meetings were scheduled each day. 


Oscar Parzen at the 2022 ILCA 4 World Championships

By Oscar Parzen | September 29, 2022

The recent ILCA 4 Worlds in Vilamoura, Portugal, from August 13-20, 2022 was an amazing experience. It was my second world championship regatta as I also participated in ILCA Worlds in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland last year. The competition was just as strong this year with many talented sailors from 51 countries, including 272 boys and 152 girls who competed. The wind was really good on some days, but not so much on others.


Alice and Anton Schmid at the 29er Open Worlds

By Alice & Anton Schmid | September 12, 2022

Last month we traveled to El Balis, outside of Barcelona, Spain, for the 29er Open Worlds. Two hundred forty-two teams from 26 countries came for the racing held August 1-6. There were three days of qualifying and 3 days of final racing.

It was very difficult sailing conditions for us with super light winds and massive chop. Many days the wind came out of the opposite directions from the day before.

Unfortunately, none of the San Diego Yacht Club teams made it into Gold Fleet this year. In the finals Anton and Peter Joslin top finishes included a bullet and a fourth, but also a UFD (42), to finish 49th overall and 9th in Silver out of 40 boats. Alice and Sammie Gardner top finishes included a 4th and a 9th, for an overall finish of 56 and a 16th out of 40 in Silver.

This year our results were disappointing, but nonetheless we learned so much through the racing and from the amazing coaches. I want to thank comp fund for allowing us to have this opportunity.


Ryan Terhaar at the 2022 ILCA 4 World Championships

By Ryan Terhaar | September 12, 2022

On August 9th I took a flight from San Diego, CA to Faro, Portugal for the 2022 ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) World Championships which were to take place a short distance away in Vilamoura, Portugal.  I arrived a few days early in order to get acclimated to the time difference as well as get a couple of practice sailing sessions in with the USA Team and Coaches (Steve Mitchell, Pedro Mascarenhas, & Marie Barrue) prior to the beginning of the regatta.  


Jack Egan at the 2022 Governor’s Cup

By Jack Egan | August 31, 2022

The Govenor’s Cup is one of the showcase events for youth match racing. Due to its ability to accept more than one team per nation, many regard it as more prestigious than Youth Match Racing Worlds. Hosted by Balboa Yacht Club each year in custom made “Gov Cup 22s,” acceptance is by application only and entries are capped at 12. This past July, I was fortunate enough to participate in this event for the second time.


Cam Spriggs & Peter Busch Summer C420 Racing

By Cam Spriggs | August 29, 2022

This summer, Peter Busch and I traveled to Canada to compete in the C420 North Americans. I was excited to compete in this event because it was my first time traveling to Canada. We arrived at the Buffalo Canoe Club on July 25th to warm up and learn more about the venue. After sailing in the C420 nationals earlier in the summer, we knew that we struggled in the waves due to our minimal time sailing in those conditions, so practice time on Lake Erie was crucial. After our practice session, we heard roomers that storm systems might be rolling through during our race days, so we started preparing for a regatta filled with chop and heavy breeze. 


Harrison Strom at the 2022 ILCA 6 Youth World Championships

By Harrison Strom | August 26, 2022

In late July, I took part in my first international sailing event. Taking part in the Laser Men’s Youth Worlds out of the Houston Yacht Club. Hearing from my friends and coaches how light and lumpy the venue was, I came with the anticipation of drifter conditions. Instead, each day of the regatta presented itself with a 2 to 4-foot chop and 15-20 knots. With mucky brown water and an eight-foot-deep bay. The courses were relatively short because the nearby shipping channel and edges were critical to starting at. As well as the sideways chop presents a more technical form of steering through waves.


Kousei Hatter at the 2022 Opti Nationals

By Kousei Hatter | August 18, 2022

In late July I competed in the 2022 USODA Opti National Championships at The Gorge.  We flew into Portland, OR, and after a long wait for a rental car, drove to Cascade Locks on the Columbia River to prepare for a week of windy practice and racing.  The next day I got my charter boat, rigged, and launched for practice from a rocky beach, which was different than what I was used to. I thought it was going to be very windy and choppy, but it was only very choppy and puffy. But then throughout the day the wind would turn on and be around 15 knots then die to 10 knots. But then on the long sail up the river the wind picked up to 20+ knots. What I learned today was that the up winds are very fast, and the down winds are very slow but feel fast because of the current. Also, I learned that the gorge would funnel the breeze by the wind going in the valleys and picking up speed.


Maggie Fleming at the C420 North American Championships

By Maggie Fleming | August 18, 2022

This past July, 97 (ninety seven) C420 teams gathered at the Buffalo Canoe Club for the 2022 C420 North Americans. The trip was a long one, but it was well worth it for the incredible conditions we got on Lake Erie. We had great wind all but one day, where it took a long time to build to a raceable condition. Peter and Cam were impossible to beat in the light wind, they were just so much faster than the whole fleet. Dylan and Nathan Sih also had a great first two days in the other fleet, finishing with huge gaps behind them. The light wind was slightly frustrating, more from the crazy amount of bugs than anything else, but we kept going no matter what.


Alice Schmid at the 2022 Youth World Championship

By Alice Schmid | August 18, 2022

The Youth World Championship is an incredible and unique event that only 4 US 29er sailors get to participate in each year. Through a series of qualifier events, the top mens and womens sailors in different classes age 18 or younger get to travel to represent their country.  After years of training together, Sammie Gardner and I qualified with fellow SDYC sailors Ian and Noah Nyenhuis to attend the 2022 Youth World Championship in The Hague, the Netherlands. Here, all sailors stayed together in small 2 bedroom houses spread out across a large campground where each sailor was given a bicycle. From there we would make the daily 4+ mile commute to the venue. Although the sand dunes made the ride anything but flat, the beautiful view of the ocean surrounded by wildflowers made it more enjoyable. During the opening ceremony, 250 sailors from 50 countries took to their bikes for a 15 minute long “parade” of the city.  


Ian & Noah Nyenhuis 29er World Championship

By Ian Nyenhuis | August 18, 2022

Recently, Noah and I competed in the 29er Open World Championships in El Balis, Spain. It was the biggest World Championships that the class had ever had with almost 250 teams competing from 26 countries. The racing was held on three different course areas about 30 minutes up the coast from Barcelona.


Noah and Ian Nyenhuis at the 2022 Youth World Sailing Championships

By Noah and Ian Nyenhuis | August 04, 2022

In July, we got the chance to travel to The Hague in the Netherlands to represent the US for a second time at the Youth World Sailing Champoionships. We had hoped that this event would have a predominantly strong breeze that is typical in the area but, in typical regatta fashion, once we arrived on site, the conditions changed to something out of the norm. Throughout the regatta, only one day was raced in wind in the teens. This was also our first time racing in strong current, up to 2 knots at some points. This added a lot of new elements to the racing that we have never had to deal with to such a large extent.


Maggie Fleming at the C420 New England Championship

By Maggie Fleming | August 03, 2022

On June 29-30, seventy C420s gathered at Wianno Yacht Club, Osterville MA, to compete in the annual New England’s Championship. The venue was very unsuspecting at first, with the club being very small and launching a bit chaotic, but it was soon evident that it was shaping up to be a great event. 


Oscar Parzen Laser Championship Summer Tour

By Oscar Parzen | August 03, 2022

I recently returned from sailing in three SDYC Comp Fund supported regattas over a three-week period. The regattas were North Americans (Cork/Kingston, Canada), Atlantic Coast Championships (Larchmont Yacht Club, New York), and Nationals (Brant Beach Yacht Club/Long Beach Island, New Jersey). I originally signed up to sail in the ILCA 4 fleet, but due to the pretty light conditions at each venue, I decided to make the switch to the ILCA 6 fleet for all three regattas. I learned a lot at each event and it showed in my results.


Dutch Shoe 2022

By Simone Staff | July 28, 2022

49th Dutch Shoe Marathon Offers Practice, Experience, and Confidence

By Casey Allocco, SDYC Communications Coordinator | July 27, 2022

The Dutch Shoe Marathon (DSM) marks a special moment in a junior sailor's life. A right of passage, it's known for. The day where you sail for hours, the longest distance yet, against friends and peers, with family or for most - totally solo. Winning the Dutch Shoe Marathon gives the champion more than just bragging rights. It gives them the practice, experience, and confidence that they will carry with them on the water for years to come. This year, the 49th DSM Champion title goes to C Fleet's Ronan Servais!


Ernesto Rodriguez & Kathleen Tocke Win Snipe US National Championship

By Casey Allocco, SDYC Communications Coordinator | July 15, 2022

Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke are officially the winners of the 2022 Snipe US National Championship! Over the past four days, this duo has proved themselves worthy of the champion title. Rodriguez and Tocke placed in the top three in six out of the eight races of the regatta. They're not deemed the SSL Snipe World Ranked no. 1 team for nothing.


Augie Diaz and Christina De Silva Set Snipe Standards on Day One of US National Championship

By Casey Allocco, SDYC Communications Coordinator | July 13, 2022

50 skippers and their crews have made their way to the San Diego Yacht Club to kick-off a week of epic Snipe sailing in the Pacific Ocean. After prepping for day one of the Snipe US National Championship with a cocktail or two, hors d'oeuvres on the Sail Wash Lawn, and live music by the Snipe Fleet Band, the fleet was ready for the action out on the water.


Jack Egan at the US Match Race Championship Qualifier

By Jack Egan | July 06, 2022

This past June I got the great opportunity to sail an at home match race regatta, that being the USMRC. My primary goal in this event was to switch my brain back on to match racing, as I had not competed in this discipline in 2022. Additionally, I will be sailing the Governor's Cup, hosted by Balboa Yacht Club at the end of July. The Governor's Cup is an international match race regatta hosted in custom “Gov Cup 22s” which occurs each year, and is invitation only. 

San Diego provided some great early summer conditions, with perfect match racing conditions both days. As per usual, San Diego did a great job running the event and the J22s were a great platform. After day one I was leading the round robin, but unfortunately did not have the same success on the second day as I finished third overall. The event as a whole had a great energy to it, and attracted sailors from across the country to compete. Thanks to the competition club and San Diego Yacht Club for their continued support, and I’ll be back on the water soon!


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